Prosecutors describe evidence of killings of students on UGA campus

On November 16, 2024By Littum

Police bodycam video showing an officer finding the dead body of late nursing student Laken Riley was played in court Friday as a trial began for the man accused of the brutal fatal attack.

Riley’s mother, already emotional from earlier evidence, left the courtroom before the video was played.

The suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, watched the tragic scene unfold on television screens, showing officers’ desperate attempts to revive the young woman, who testimony showed was beyond help.

The trial in Clarke County Superior Court before Judge Patrick Haggard resumes at 8:30 a.m. Monday as prosecutors continue to present evidence. Haggard will make a decision on Ibarra’s guilt on charges ranging from murder, attempted rape and aggravated assault. Ibarra had decided not to have a jury trial.

Riley, 22, a former University of Georgia student who was studying to become a nurse in an Athens-based program run by Augusta University, was killed in a wooded area of the intramural field complex on Feb. 22. The autopsy report shows that she died of blunt force trauma to her head that fractured her skull and asphyxiation when the killer also deprived her brain of oxygen during the assault.

Much of the state’s case was laid out during the trial by special prosecutor Sheila Ross, who presented evidence collected at the crime scene along with security camera footage and clothing stained with Riley’s blood, which Ross said belonged to Ibarra. Two bloodstained rocks that Ross will claim were used in the attack were also introduced into evidence.

Another key piece of evidence was Riley’s phone, which contained a thumbprint that Ross said matched Ibarra’s.

Ross also introduced evidence of a peeping tom case that occurred earlier that morning in the same general area, when a graduate student called 911 to report a strange man trying to enter her apartment.

UGA Police Sgt. Preston Norris pointed out on a map the vicinity where the events took place. Ibarra lived on South Milledge Avenue. Riley lived nearby on Milledge Avenue Extension. The peeping tom case took place on nearby Rogers Road. All of these areas border the intramural field area where Riley was killed.

Riley’s three roommates all testified to the tragic morning when Riley, an avid runner, set off for a morning run on campus. Lilly Steiner, Sofia Magana and Connolly Huth, all graduated from UGA in May, and are now pursuing jobs or graduate school.

Their testimony showed how they all became concerned when Riley never returned from his run. She had a class that day and was not the type to deviate from her schedule, according to their testimony. Riley didn’t pick up her phone either.

Steiner and Magana went to the intramural field because an app on their phone showed that Riley’s phone was still in that location. Magana, who brought her dog Champ, said her dog pulled on something on a hiking trail and she saw an AirPod that she recognized as belonging to Riley.

They called the police.

UGA Police Sgt. Kenneth Maxwell arrived and the young women showed him on their app where they had tracked the phone. Maxwell began walking through the woods, the body camera shows. He saw the body of Riley near a young Magnolia tree partially covered in leaves and other forest debris.

Maxwell rushed to her side and immediately began an attempt to help the woman, at one point exclaiming, “I can’t get a pulse.”

Maxwell begins CPR and when Cpl. Mason Bridges arrived, he took over life-saving measures. Another officer arrives to assist and sirens can be heard in the background as an Athens-Clarke County Fire engine arrives at the intramural fields.

Ibarra, who is listening to testimony through an interpreter, watched the video as the officers worked hard on the woman, but at times his gaze moved downward and away from the video.

Prosecutors also outlined details that led to Ibarra’s arrest.

The leering suspect’s image was collected on a surveillance camera, and it showed the man wearing a hooded jacket and holding a Styrofoam cup. Such a cup was found a few meters from where Riley was killed. Ross said Ibarra’s DNA was found on the cup’s straw.

Another surveillance camera from a private residence proved crucial, according to the testimony. It showed a man placing a jacket in a recycling bin at Cielo at Azulyk Apartments on South Milledge Avenue. The apartments were also referred to in testimony as the Argo Apartments, but are now known as The Grove at Five Points.

Ibarra lived in an apartment at the complex with two brothers and two others.

The security video obtained here also shows the man casually walking away from the bin and placing some gloves in a thick hedge. One of the gloves had a tear in the thumb area, which the state claims provided the fingerprint evidence on Riley’s phone.

Athens-Clarke Police Officer Zachary Davis, who previously worked for UGA police, testified that he had a “grainy” photo of the squinting suspect wearing a hooded jacket. He testified that he began looking into dumpsters, and at the dumpster lot in Cielo, he discovered a blue jacket inside.

After UGA police arrived, Davis testified that he climbed into the dumpster to retrieve the jacket and quickly saw a hair tangled on the clothing.

After collecting the jacket and also noticing bloodstains, he testified that he saw a nearby security camera at a residence pointing at the dumpster. This led to the video showing the suspect discarding the jacket and hiding the gloves.

Riley’s mobile phone was only found at the crime scene after darkness had fallen.

Sgt. Norris testified that a previous search failed to find the phone, but he knew it was in the area. As he began another circular search of the crime scene, he found the phone partially hidden under leaves and a piece of wood.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Daniella Stuart, who also collected the bloodstained rocks while working the crime scene, testified that she saw and photographed the thumbprint on Riley’s phone. Norris then held up the print for evidence.

Other evidence at the crime scene showed an area of soil disturbance on the forest floor just yards from where Riley’s body was moved and partially hidden. Also, a young tree, about an inch thick, had a blood stain and a strand of hair sticking to the bark, according to Stuart.

A portion of the tree was entered into evidence.